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Sometimes all it takes is a little cash and someone to believe
in you for a business to blossom. No one knows that better than
Fred DeLuca, who started the Subway chain of sandwich shops in 1965
with just $1,000.

Today, the co-founder of the $3 billion business wants to
nourish the ideas of budding entrepreneurs who may be as
cash-strapped as he once was. His nonprofit Micro Investment
Lending Enterprise (MILE) grants loans of $700 to $1,500 to people
at or below the poverty level who want to start businesses.

Here's how it works: People join and form "borrowing
circles," which meet once a week to brainstorm about each
member's business plan. Experts advise and guide the group, and
the entire circle must approve the business plan before a member
can apply for a loan.

Loans are granted by chapter leaders based on character and the
business plan's soundness. There are no credit checks or
collateral requirements, but the loans, given at 10 percent
interest, must be paid back within a year. At that time,
entrepreneurs may reapply for another loan twice the size of the
orignal loan amount.